Vehicle-wheel.



E. H. WHITING. VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR.3,1913.

1,076,255. Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

EDMUND H. WHITING, Oi ZEBUVIDENCE, RH'OIDE I'S'ibAiiT'D.

Specification of letters Patent.

PatentedOct. 21, 1913.

Application filed March 3, 1913. Serial No. 751,970.

To all whom it may conc'em:

Be it known that I, Ennusn H. Whir- ING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of RhodeIsland, haveinyented a new and useful Vehicle-Wheel, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The purpose of my invention-is to provide a wheel fo'r'autoinobiles andother vehicles, which will serve as a shock absorber and thus make thevehicle more e'asy to ride in, and in which a solid rubber the may beefllclently used in the placeand stez'gl of the pneumatic tire nowcommonly 118% To these ends my invention consists in the new and usefulconstruction, combination and arrangement "of parts hereinafterdescribed, and illustrated in the accompanyrug drawings, in which;

figure 1 is an elevation of a wheel era bodying my invention, with partsbroken away, and other parts shown in section. Fig. 2 is a sectionalView on line 2+2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is n elevation of the hub of thewheel with t e es removed. Fig. 4;

is a perspective view of one of the annular shock absorbers. Fig. 5 is aperspective sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

In the drawings A represents the spokes of a wheel secured at their.inner ends to the center or hub of the wheel by bolts 8.

A represents the wheel rim attached in the well known manner to theouter ends of the spokes.

A represents the solid tire or rubber or other resilient material,secured on said rim.

The central or hub portion of my Wheel I construct as follows: A sleeve1, arranged and adapted to serve as an axle box or hearing, isexternally threaded on each end, and is provided with a plurality ofradial outwardly projecting arms 2 disposed a distance apart. Upon eachend of said sleeve 1. I secure an annular collar 3 to form a flangeprojecting in all directions beyond and perpendicularly to said sleeve.Surrounding one end of said sleeve 1 and its collar 3 is a cylindricalmember 4:, spaced a distance from the peripheral edge of said collar,and provided with an interior radially directed annular flange or rib 4spaced a distance from said sleeve 1, and

- with an exterior radially projecting flange 4 Said flanges or ribs 4and 4: are dispose'd'a distance inward from the rear end of saidcylindrical member; '(Fig. 2). A

cap 5 secured to the outer end of the cylih drical member covers theouter face of the hub. Said member 4: extends somewhat more than onehalf the length of the sleeve 1. A second cylindrical member 4 roundinthe other end of the sleeve 1 is similarly rovided with an interiorannular rib or flange 4 and an exterior flange 4 and is further providedwith a second interior annular rib P spaced a distance from the rib 4and the end of the member 4a, and disposed in the path of the arih's 2.A collar 3 and cap 5 are secured on thawinn er end of the sleeve i, andsaidember 4 isalso spaced a distancefrnm the peripheral edge ofsaidcollar; I

It will be noted that the interibr ribs 4 of the members 4 and i" inconnection with the c'ollars 3 form annular bexesardimd the sleeve 1. Ineach of these annular boxes I fit annular rings of rubber (as 6),adapted to yield and permit the sleeve 1 and the axle a borne therein toyield to any sho'cl'r imparted to the Wheel rim. In other words, theannular rubber rings 6 will act as shock absorbers and thereby relievethe vehicle from jars and render it smoother and more.

comfortable to ride in.

By reason of the novel and useful construction and arrangement of thedescribed parts I am enabled to dispense with pneumatic tires and to usein their stead tires of solid rubber, or -ither material of suiflcientresiliency t insure grip of the tire upon the road bed, and thus avoidthe liability and expense of punctured tires. One of said members 4and-4c I construct of greater diameter than the other so that one mayenter the other at their inner ends with some free space between theiredges, and be there firmly secured together by the bolts 8 which alsoserve to bind the ends of the spokes A inserted between the exteriorflanges 4 of the said members. The arms 2 are preferthe spaces betweenthe members4 and 4 and the collars 3 and sleeve 1.

In the practical operation of my invention the parts being assembled, asdescribed and shown, and the wheel being driven, say in the direction ofthe arrow in Fig. 3, the arms 2 will move forward into contact with theinterior lugs 49 and continue in such cont-act so long as the wheel ismoved in the indicated direction. When the Wheel is reversed the arms 2will contact with the ribs 4 in the reverse direction.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle wheel the combination with an axle box provided withexternal radially projecting arms, annular collars secured upon each endof said box and constituting flanges therefor, a cylindrical memberprovided with internal radially extending ribs, and with an externalradially projecting rib, said member loosely surrounding said collar atone end of said box, and spaced as to itself and said internal rib adistance from said collar and box, a second cylindrical member ofsmaller diameter than the first member and similarly fitted upon theopposite end of said axle box, and provided with a similar internalradially extending rib, and also with an internal radially extendinglug, adapted to lie in the path of the radial arms of the axlebox whenthe said two members are united, spokes disposed between the adjacentexternal ribs on said members, and bolts passing through said ribs andspokes and thereby securing the whole.

2. In a vehicle wheel the combination with an axle box provided Withexternal radially projecting arms, annular collars secured upon each endof said box and constituting flanges therefor, a cylindrical memberprovided with an external radially projecting rib, and also with aninternal radially extending rib, said member loosely surrounding saidcollar at one end of said box and spaced as to itself and said internalrib a distance from said collar and box, an annular resilient ringsurrounding said end of said box and disposed in the space between saidinternal rib and said collar, a second cylindrical member of smallerdiameter than the first member and similarly fitted upon the oppositeend of said axle box and provided with a similar internal radiallyextending rib, a similar external radially projecting rib, and also withan internal radially extending lug adapted to lie in the path of theradial arms of the axle box when said two members are united, an annularresilient ring surrounding said opposite end of said axle box anddisposed in the space between said internal rib of said second memberand the collar on said axle box end, spokes disposed between theadjacent external ribs on said members, and bolts passing through saidribs and thereby securing the whole together. 7 f

, EDMUND H. WHITIN G.

Witnesses:

ALFRED WILSON, HENRY MARSH, J r.

